


Conductive Conversation

by di93



Series: Inquisitorial Enigma [15]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: And he needs to learn to ask for help, Fluff, Inquisibutt, Kaaras is bad at telling stories, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 08:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10302692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/di93/pseuds/di93
Summary: It's hard for Dorian to enjoy the view of the Inquisitor's backside when A) he's freezing off his own backside in the Emprise du Lion, and B) the Inquisitor is acting even more odd than usual. Still, he manages to learn a little more about his quiet lover.





	

While the weather in most of southern Thedas was generally atrocious, and while Dorian was decidedly not fond of camping or anything involving the outdoors, there was an upside to following the Inquisitor to every freezing corner of the continent: having a magnificent view of his lover’s backside. 

Sure, said backside was generally covered with muck and armor, but the Tal-Vashoth cut no less impressive a figure beneath all the layers of nugskin and silk and (optimistically) mud. 

Following him around that much also meant that Dorian was very attuned to the man’s usual posture and mannerisms, so it didn’t take long for Dorian to notice that after closing one rift in the Emprise du Lion, Kaaras seemed somehow… twitchy. Occasionally he would see the man’s hand spasm, or the Vashoth would roll his shoulders as if to banish a twinge in his back. Once or twice, Dorian noticed Kaaras shake his foot when he thought no one was paying attention. At first, Dorian thought nothing of it. Perhaps the man had just finally realized how uncomfortable sleeping on the ground truly was. 

But then when their party settled, next to the campfire for the night, Kaaras pointedly maintained more distance than usual between himself and everyone else, Dorian included, even after everyone else had retired for the night. 

“Amatus, is everything alright?” 

“Yes?” 

“You’ve been acting odd ever since that rift earlier today. Is something wrong with the Anchor?” 

“Oh, no." Dorian raised an eyebrow, silently asking for the man to elaborate. "I just wish I had made these out of onyx or something instead of iron,” he said, pointing at his horns. Dorian stared at him in confusion until he watch an arc of electricity jolt from the man’s metallic horn to his outstretched finger. 

Kaaras let out a little yelp followed by a frustrated grunt as he shook his hand, trying to rid it of the irksome pins and needles feeling. 

“Sweet Maker, why didn’t you mention it earlier? Here,’ Dorian scolded before casting despell to rid the iron of the residual magical energy. “Was that from the pride demon earlier?” he asked when Kaaras sighed with relief, and the no-longer electrified man nodded. 

Of course iron would hold onto the magic longer than usual, since it was naturally conductive, thus why it was commonly used in staffs for mages with an electricity affinity. Since Kaaras was a pyromancer, he’d never had any issues with his own magic conflicting with the metal that adorned his head, but the pride demon had nearly knocked him out earlier with a lash of that electric whip. 

“Why do you even wear those? It’s not like horns even need to be protected.” 

“Mine were shorn off,” he replied quietly, frowning even as he finally relaxed onto the bench by the fire and settled closer to his lover, no longer afraid of shocking anyone else. Dorian, remembering once again how saarebas are kept, felt a mix of nausea and rage roll through his gut. He couldn’t find any words, but he didn’t have to as Kaaras continued. “It’s harder to be identified as an escaped saarebas if I look like I still have horns,” he explained, and Dorian felt a chill that had nothing to do with the frigid temperatures of the Emprise. Every time he imagined Kaaras like that, bound, leashed, silent and blinded, Dorian felt like he would weep. And then freeze over the whole of Qunandar. 

“Plus, what is left of my horns are uneven now since they were shorn off when I was still young, so it’s more comfortable to have the metal for balance,” Kaaras finished with a shrug, and Dorian studied the metal more closely in the firelight and reached out to trace a scratch that was too deep to ever fully buff out. 

“They’ve seen quite a bit of wear.” 

“I’ve had them since I first started working as a mercenary.” 

“How did you start?” he asked. It was far less painful for Dorian to imagine Kaaras’s life as a mercenary than as a weapon of the Qun.  

“A bear tried to eat me,” he replied, and Dorian sputtered a laugh, dropping his hand from the metal horn. 

“What?” 

“Captain Katari and his kith were hired to hunt a bear that had been causing trouble for the hunters in a little village in the Marches. I found it first.” 

“So you were hunting the bear yourself?” 

“Oh, no. I was hunting a boar.” 

“Alright, how about you start from the beginning because I believe you’ve skipped something,” Dorian said, frowning up at Kaaras, slightly concerned that the pride demon’s lash had done more to Kaaras’s head than just electrify his horns. 

“I set a trap for a boar that I was tracking, but the rope was thin and worn, something I just happened to find that was probably discarded. So when I chased it into the trap, the rope snapped easily and the boar charged me. I couldn’t even cast a sub-par barrier back then, so it knocked me down and ran me through with its tusks before I could react. Then it ran off, leaving me bleeding next to a cave. 

“I thought I was lucky and that it had lost interest, so I went inside to try to rest and patch myself up, but of course the cave was already occupied by a bear. It attacked, and I could hardly stand, let alone run. So I had to fight it. Of course, I didn’t really have the energy for that either, so it had knocked me down and was about to bite off my arm when Katari and the others showed up. Their arrival distracted it long enough for me to throw a fireball down its throat. Then I passed out. But the resulting explosion was apparently impressive enough to warrant them patching me up and hiring me on,” he explained, and Dorian just shook his head with disbelief. “What is it?” Kaaras asked when Dorian didn’t say anything. 

“I just cannot fathom how you are still alive. Even with Andraste’s favor, you should be dead several times over,” he said, and Kaaras gave a short laugh. 

“I guess I’m just really lucky,” he said with a shrug, and Dorian returned the smile even as he shook his head again. He would never understand how the Tal-Vashoth considered himself lucky of all things, but then Kaaras was the rarest of creatures: an optimist. 

“Well, you are in a relationship with the most handsome man in all of Thedas, so I suppose that does make you luckier than most,” Dorian said, and Kaaras chuckled. 

“Not only handsome. Also the most talented mage, most thoughtful person,” Kaaras said earnestly, making Dorian almost blushing beneath the genuine praise until Kaaras grinned. “And most stubborn man in all of Thedas.” 

Dorian huffed at the last, but was too moved by the still-too-rare sight of a smile on Kaaras’s face to truly be upset.  

“And here you were doing so well, too. I suppose you must certainly be lucky since I’m willing to overlook that last so long as you kiss me.” 

“Gladly,” he replied, still smiling before complying with the man’s request. 

No matter how many times Kaaras kissed Dorian, it would never be enough. Neither of them knew what the future held, especially since Thedas seemed to be crashing down all around them, but moments like these made Kaaras feel like he’d be able to get through anything the world decided to throw at him. He had something to fight for, something tangible to keep him fighting no matter how difficult things became.  

And after spending so much time fighting to stay alive for reasons that were vague even to him, Kaaras was rejuvenated in a way he didn’t even know possible thanks to his relationship with Dorian.  

His entire soul felt like it was being jolted with electricity, being energized every time Dorian was around.  

Neither of them knew what the future held, but with Dorian by his side, he knew they would be able to make it through and defeat Corypheus. Then they would be able to resume that conversation from a few weeks ago and decide for themselves what the future would hold. 


End file.
